Lerato Mbele


Lerato Mbele-Roberts is a South African journalist and broadcaster working for the BBC. Mbele is the presenter of “Talking Business Africa” and was the presenter of the long running “Africa Business Report on BBC World News. She used to be one of the main presenters of Newsday'' on the.

Early life

Mbele studied for a Masters in development studies at the University of London. She has a bachelor's degree majoring politics and international relations from the University of Cape Town. Her parents are South African.

Career

Mbele began working for the South African Broadcasting Corporation in 1999, rising to become an anchor for its programme News at Ten. In 2007 Mbele joined CNBC Africa at its launch as one the channel's senior business presenters. While at CNBC she hosted regular programmes on the channel in addition to coverage of many other business events, such as the World Economic Forum.
In 2012 Mbele joined BBC News to help launch and present Newsday on the BBC World Service with Lawrence Pollard. The two presented from 6–8.30am each weekday. Now she is the presenter of “Talking Business Africa” a lifestyle business show focusing on prominent entrepreneurs and their business mindset in the boardroom and on the factory floor, which Mbele explores alongside them for a hands on experience. She was also the long standing presenter for Africa Business Report, a weekly programme that provided analyses on different sectors of the economy across African countries. It also featured leading business personalities from the African continent. Interviews by Mbele also appear on BBC World News and on World Business Report.
In 2014 Mbele was named a Young Global Leader by the Switzerland based World Economic Forum, in the cohort selected that year.